the curious happenstance of pedro pascal and din djarin [The Mandalorian]

Well, it's okay because it was an accident.

Pain.

A lot of it.

The pain-killers had worn off. All feeling had returned to his arm now, and it returned ten-fold.

"Don't move."

Din was sitting beside him, still in full armour. Jon stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Wasn't planning on it," Pedro croaked. "Did I pass out?"

"For about an hour, yes."

Pedro stared up at the ceiling. His vision swirled, and he shut his eyes tight. "Jesus," he hissed. "You realise those guys saved me, right?"

Din cocked his head to the side. "They shot you."

"And then kidnapped you," Jon said.

"They said it was an accident. Which is why they patched me up. And gave me pain meds."

Jon shifted his stance in the doorway. Din stared at Pedro intensely through his visor.

"Pedro, it wasn't an accident," Din sighed. "If the bullet was only an inch to the right your arm would be paralysed. No shot is that good on accident."

" 'S'just coincidence," Pedro slurred. "How do you know, anyway?"

"I might not be a doctor, but I've spent three decades learning to take care of my own wounds. I'd be dead if I didn't know basic anatomy."

"And knowing where the nerves are is basic?"

"Pedro..." Jon sauntered awkwardly to Pedro's side. "You could have died."

They fell into silence.

Mortality was... it wasn't often on the brain, really. Even for a role, the concept of death, and the concept of his death just wasn't something he thought about. Ever.

But Jon was right.

He could have died.

Christopher could have chosen not to help him, and he would have bled out on his own floor.

Not the way he pictured going.

Old age, maybe. Sickness. Hell, a car accident. He'd considered how he might die - who hadn't? - but being shot? Going into shock, bleeding out?

It all came flooding back to him, in an instant. The pain, his entire world turning and spinning as he tried and failed to call for help. Bloody fingerprints. Being so scared and feeling so alone. The same thought racing through his mind, over and over and over - "I don't want to die."

"We'll let you rest."

Din was who pulled him out of it. A gentle hand on his arm, a look that says, even with the visor, 'I'm here for you.'

"Try to sleep."

Without Din, Pedro wouldn't have been shot. But even so, he was glad. He was glad the universes fucked up. He was glad they gave him the Mandalorian.

He'd endure all the pain in all of reality if it meant Din was happy under his care.

"Goodnight."

They left. The light flickered off, and Pedro was left with only his thoughts.

Despite the pain, despite the panic, despite existentialism creeping up behind him, Pedro fell into a comfortable, deep sleep.

-

"It's my fault."

Jon fiddled with the hem of his jacket, awkwardly sitting on Pedro's couch. Tense, tired. "What?"